A quiet Friday evening on St. Paul’s East Side turned chaotic when a man and a woman were shot on the 1000 block of Barclay Street, leaving neighbors stunned and police scrambling to lock down the scene.
Officers were called to the block around 8:30 p.m., where they found two victims, according to early reports from police. The man had been hit multiple times and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her leg and was treated for what authorities described as a non-life-threatening injury.
Police: Ongoing Dispute Boiled Over
Investigators believe the gunfire was not random. A preliminary look at the case suggests the shooting grew out of an ongoing dispute between people, according to Pioneer Press. The outlet reports that the man remains in critical condition after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, while the woman was struck in the leg and is expected to survive.
Police have not released any suspect descriptions. Authorities also did not immediately say whether anyone had been taken into custody, leaving key questions about who opened fire and why still hanging over the neighborhood.
Another Violent Night In A Tense Season
Friday’s shooting lands in the middle of a tense stretch for St. Paul. The city has wrestled with a series of violent incidents this spring, including a fatal downtown shooting on April 30 that was described as the city’s fourth homicide of the year, as reported by the Star Tribune.
In earlier cases, police have said they did not believe those incidents posed an ongoing threat to the wider public. Even so, each new report of gunfire adds another layer of anxiety for residents who are just trying to get through a spring evening without sirens and crime scene tape.
How To Help Investigators
Detectives are canvassing the Barclay Street area, looking for surveillance footage and knocking on doors in search of witnesses who might help piece together what happened. Police and local reporters say the investigation remains very much active.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the St. Paul Police Department through the department’s non-emergency line. Tips, even small details, could help move the case forward. For the initial reporting on the shooting, see the coverage from Pioneer Press.
